


Day 10: Found

by WatermelonTuesdays



Series: Sheith Monster Fuckers 2019 [10]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon Shiro, Fluff, Gift Giving, Keith dotes on Shiro endlessly, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, M/M, Thief Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 01:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20958107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatermelonTuesdays/pseuds/WatermelonTuesdays
Summary: Keith finds a wounded dragon and helps the beautiful creature get back on his feet, falling in love in the process.





	Day 10: Found

**Author's Note:**

> God! It almost hurts to post a G rated fic to this event! Not that I have anything against G fics, really, it's just I had a nice porny streak going and I ruined it. I hope you all like it just the same.

Keith found him all on his own. A lone dragon, injured and hungry; lost and wasting away without its hoard. He tried to give the beautiful creature some food and medicine, but he wouldn’t take it. Everyone knows a dragon without gold has no will to live.

Had Keith any gold to his name, he would offer it up immediately. It wasn’t every day you stumbled across a dragon, let alone one in need of help. But sadly, Keith was a poor orphan, living wild along the edges of the city, what little he had by way of possessions was hard won, and he had not a single coin to give.

Still, a dragon is a dragon, so that night Keith crept into the city, and he crept out again with a small purse of gold coins. While the dragon was still asleep, Keith snuck as close as he dared and emptied the purse onto the ground where it would sparkle in the morning sunshine. Beside it, he left a bottle of medicine and a roasted hare. Then he hid out of sight and waited for dawn.

The sun rose at its expected time and with it, rose the dragon. The dragon’s white scales glimmered rosy pink in the morning sunshine, and he tossed his long, black hair to the side so that the silvery-white forelock fell away from his eyes. His long tail swept behind him as he stretched out his remaining arm and clawed a lazy stripe in the dirt. 

He blinked, almost stupidly (though Keith chose to interpret it as innocent rather than stupid) at the world around him before he caught sight of the gift Keith had left him. 

Immediately, wide grey eyes grew wider and his short snout went round with surprise. For a moment he looked absolutely delighted, before his eyes narrowed with suspicion. He cast about, looking for a trap. His eyes seemed to lock on Keith, and for a long, terrifying moment, Keith was sure he had been caught, but then the dragon looked on, searching further through the dense forest foliage. 

With no immediate enemies in sight, the dragon crept slowly closer to the small pile of gold, sniffing at it and staring at it intently. He circled it twice before he dared to reach out one long claw and swipe away a single gold coin.

His face lit up as he inspected the coin, twirling it between his fingers, and testing the metal with his teeth. Then he swiped another, and then another and another until he had moved the entire pile about 2 feet to the right so that it now sat between his legs. He counted his gold coins delightedly, piling them again and again in different amounts and inspecting every one until Keith was sure he must know each by heart.

It was only after the dragon had counted his small hoard several dozen times that he bothered to even glance at the meat. He picked up the roasted hare and sniffed at it gingerly before taking a small bite. 

Keith could see the gleam of sharp teeth in the sunlight and watched in awe as the dragon ripped the meat cleanly from the bone. He chewed it delicately, testing it for suspicious additives, then ate the rest in three bites. He downed the bottle of medicine in one gulp after skimming the bottle’s label, having apparently decided to trust Keith’s offering. 

Once the potion was gone and the hare bones tossed into a nearby bush, the dragon curled himself around his gold to count it again and again until he fell asleep in the dappled forest sunlight.

It was only then that Keith dared to creep away from his hiding place and head off in search of more to offer the beautiful beast.

That night he left two hares and another bottle of potion, but in the morning the dragon didn’t so much as look at them, he was so busy counting and re-counting his gold. So, the next night, Keith piled another cash of stolen coins beside the hares, adding a pheasant for good measure. In the morning, the dragon happily added the coins to his collection and ate everything down in three bites each. He opted to spit the bones into the bushes this time. 

Every night for two weeks, Keith fed the dragon and added to his hoard. Then he came across his next problem. 

It would soon be turning cold, and the dragon could not stay here, alone and defenseless in the forest. So, Keith began to scout out a proper cave for the majestic creature. Something worthy of a dragon. In the end, he found one about a two day’s walk from the dragon’s current resting place. The only trouble would be getting him there.

Though his wounds were healing nicely from all the potions Keith had been giving him, and though he had been eating well for the last two weeks, the dragon was still weak. Keith would have to come up with a plan to get him to the cave; a plan that would break the two day’s journey into four or five days. 

He started by giving the dragon a large purse to store his small hoard. Then he created a trail of coins through the forest, leading the dragon away from his forest home. The dragon followed the trail eagerly, inspecting each new coin as he picked it up before dashing ahead for the next one. At the end of each day’s journey, Keith left a small pile of coins in a place where the dragon could curl up for the night.

Keith watched over his dragon (at least, by this point he felt enough kinship to the dragon to call him his own) each day and snuck back to the city each night for more gold. By now, Keith had become an accomplished burglar, and he found it laughable this had never occurred to him before in all his hungry youth.

On the day Keith finally led his dragon to his cave, he had left it filled not only with gold coins but with a small pile of sparkling jewels that Keith had picked up and pocketed over the last several weeks. Though Keith could not see his dragon’s joy at finding the jewels, he could hear the soft gasp and happy humming, followed by the telltale tinkling sounds of money being counted. 

Keith stayed hidden in the bushes at the entrance of the cave for a long while, listening to the happy sounds of his dragon, when the dragon slowly walked back out to the mouth of the cave. Keith frowned. Worry flooded him, wondering if something had gone wrong, or if the dragon hated his new home. 

Instead, the dragon’s grey eyes landed on the bush behind which Keith hid. He bowed low and said, “thank you,” before turning with a swish of his tail and returning to his cave. 

His voice was deep and pleasant, and Keith spent the rest of his day replaying the simple thank you in his mind. “Thank you.” “Thank you.”

The next night, Keith left his gifts at the entrance of the cave. Then he waited all day for his dragon to come out and find them, but he did not come. It was only then that Keith realized the true downfall of his plan.

Keith had been doting on his dragon, delighting in the look of joy that crossed his face each morning when he discovered a new pile of treasure. Now, Keith’s view was gone. Just like before, the dragon would not venture far without a sight of gold in his immediate vicinity; Keith was going to have to leave his gifts further into the cave.

Keith waited until the next night to drop off another offering of food and gold, but this time he hit a new snag. He was walking into a dragon’s den in the dark. Four steps into the cave, and the light of the moon disappeared, leaving Keith blind and stumbling in the dark. He couldn’t know if he was walking into a gold pile, or about to step over a sleeping dragon’s tail!

It was, by far, the most dangerous thing Keith had done to date. So, Keith dropped his gifts and ran before the dragon woke up and found him sneaking into his new territory. 

It took two more days for Keith to summon up the courage to try again. He had a new plan, but before he could put it into action, he first had to steal from one of the richest men in the entire city. 

This time, Keith went to the dragon’s cave during the middle of the day, with a pack laden with gifts. He had exceptional gifts this time, a golden jewelry box filled with ruby rings and diamond necklaces, a polished opal the size of his fist, and a fat bag of gold and silver coins. He also carried a leg of smoked venison and two jars of pickled herring. 

Though Keith was now a master at moving silently, he walked into the cave making enough noise to wake the dead. He did not want to be accused of sneaking up on a dragon’s hoard. 

The inside of the cave was dim, and Keith moved slowly as his eyes adjusted to the half-light. He found the dragon laying curled around his growing hoard, on a raised section of rock near the far wall of the cave, his grey eyes alert and pinned on Keith.

Keith stopped where he stood and opened his bag for the dragon to see.

“I’m not coming to take anything. I brought you gifts.”

The dragon shifted so that his tail encircled his hoard, hiding it so that not even a single glimmer of gold reached Keith’s eyes. His expression turned haughty and he looked away from Keith as if offended. “Dragons do not accept gifts.”

“But…” Keith stumbled. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to be rude, but the fact of the matter was that the dragon had already accepted many gifts. All from Keith. “Your hoard…” Keith swept an arm out, gesturing to the pile of gold and jewels he could not see, and then gesturing to himself, hoping that would explain it.

“I found them,” the dragon insisted.

“Ok,” Keith agreed, stepping back slowly, his bag still open in his hands. Maybe this was the end of it?

The dragon looked him over swiftly. “Leave those over there and I can find them as well.” He waved a lazy hand to the opposite wall, where there was another raised rock about three feet in diameter.

Keith smiled. “Of course.” He moved over to the rock and laid his gifts out for the dragon to spy later. “There’s fresh running water near the back of the cave,” Keith advised once he had finished arranging his present. “If you happen to find some pickled herring, you might want to store it near the water, so it keeps cool.”

The dragon’s head picked up with interest, as he looked over Keith’s assortment. His eyes grew wide and he smiled as he saw the two bottles of fish along the side. 

“What is your name, human?” the dragon called after him as he took his leave.

“Keith.”

“Just Keith?”

“Yes, just Keith.”

“Well, just Keith. I am just Shiro.”

Keith couldn’t hold back his smile. He’d finally learned the dragon’s name! “I’ll see you tomorrow, Shiro,” he said happily, before running out the cave’s entrance.

“Tomorrow,” Shiro’s reply echoed out of the cave after him.

Keith visited every day after that, loading up the small, rock platform with his gifts before quickly leaving. He began to learn the kinds of food Shiro liked, and it turned out it was not just meats. Shiro had expensive tastes (of course!) and he practically crooned when Keith began to bring him fresh pastries and berry-laden cakes. 

Slowly but surely, Shiro began to accept Keith’s presence more and more. Every day Keith hung back a little longer, making small talk and trying to get a glimpse of Shiro’s happy expressions. After months had passed, Keith learned to keep himself to a far corner and wait for Shiro to slowly climb down from his bed to ‘find’ his new treasures.

Shiro’s reactions were just as beautiful as they had been that first day. No matter how many coins Keith brought him, each new one was treated as precious, and Shiro added it to his collection with pride. 

Eventually, Shiro began to trust Keith enough to share his food. He’d come down from his perch atop his hoard and let Keith serve Shiro’s food on some gold-edged china plates Keith had nicked from a minister’s house. They conversed then: not just small talk, but real conversation. Shiro was astoundingly well-read, he had had a library in his old hoard before the territory fight that scarred his nose and took his arm and hoard. He told Keith of all the amazing things he’d read, and soon enough Keith began to pilfer books for Shiro as well. 

Keith brought tea pots and flavoured teas for Shiro to find, and Shiro would use his flame to boil them up some tea to go with their meals. Soon enough, it became common for them to share at least one meal together each day, sometimes more. 

When they did, Shiro would allow Keith’s fingers to graze his own as he handed over the plate. For Keith had fallen quite soundly in love with the dragon. Well, by all accounts he had fallen at first sight, but after a year of sitting with him and conversing with him, Keith was well and truly, irrevocably in love.

Shiro seemed to understand Keith’s feelings, though he gave no inkling of returning the sentiment. He saw how Keith yearned to touch him, and he saw how a simple touch set Keith abuzz with delight. Over time, Shiro tolerated many of Keith’s desires, at times holding his hand and once letting Keith run his finger’s through the dragon’s long, dark hair.

The only thing Shiro could never tolerate was Keith’s proximity to his hoard.

It’s not like Keith wanted anything to do with Shiro’s hoard besides to continue to help it grow. He did, however, long to lay down beside Shiro and curl up in his warm embrace. But Shiro would never lie anywhere but on his gold, and Keith could never lie anywhere near Shiro’s gold. And that seemed to be that. 

“It’s not easy for a dragon to have someone else around his hoard,” Shiro explained one day. 

“Of course not,” Keith said. It made sense. Even if Keith was responsible for most of the hoard, it would still be against the dragon’s nature to let someone near it.

Shiro’s grey eyes surveyed thoughtfully over Keith for a long moment. “Go over there so I can find you, too.” He waved to the raised platform.

Keith gave Shiro a quizzical look, but he obeyed the dragon’s request. He moved over to the place he left his offerings and sat down beside the day’s pile of rubies.

For a few moments, Shiro pretended to ignore him. Then he came shuffling over and sniffed at the rubies. He snatched away and handful with a fast movement and counted them in his hand as he brought them over to his hoard. He placed them lovingly atop a pile of sparkling jewels, then returned to Keith’s side.

For the first time, Shiro was close enough that his entire body dwarfed Keith’s. His soft white scales nudged against Keith’s knees as he leaned in again and scooped up another handful of rubies. He cleared the pile and happily placed them beside the others.

Then Shiro returned once more to Keith’s side. He stood towering over Keith for a long moment, before he dropped his nose to Keith’s chest and sniffed him a few times. 

Keith’s heart hammered loudly in his chest as he waited without moving, hardly daring to breathe. Then Shiro’s large arm wrapped around and under Keith and hoisted him deftly to his side.

Keith gave a soft cry of surprise as he was lifted, and he clung instinctively to Shiro’s neck. Then Shiro walked Keith slowly over to his hoard pile and sat him lovingly atop a small pile of coins. 

“There,” Shiro said, smiling down at Keith and leaning to touch their foreheads together softly. “Now I’ve found you.” He ducked his head and gave Keith a soft kiss to the cheek, “you can be my greatest treasure.”

Keith choked back tears as he pulled Shiro into a tight embrace. Then Shiro climbed up onto the pile beside Keith and the two of them lay down together, with Shiro petting lightly at Keith’s head with the same loving look as he gave all his possessions. 

“So…” Keith asked, hesitant to ruin their mood but also dying for some clarification, “this means this is my home now?”

“Yes, it is,” Shiro murmured into Keith’s hair.

“Can I still leave, though?”

Shiro thought about it for a moment. “I’ll allow it, so long as you always come back.”

Keith smiled at the thought. He’d never had a home of his own before. He’d never had someone waiting for him before. 

“Always,” Keith promised. “But I think tomorrow I’m going to have to go steal some pillows for you to find.” He wiggled against the coins he was laying on.

Shiro’s laugh was rich and deep. Keith could feel it singing through his whole body, close as they were. “Agreed,” Shiro said. 

Without warning, Keith sat up and leaned over Shiro. He took Shiro’s face in his hands and tilted him until he could press a sweet kiss over the scar on Shiro’s snout. 

“I love you, Shiro.” He said, meaningfully. “I’m glad to be yours.” 

For all the time that Keith had known him, he’d never seen Shiro blush until that very moment.

Shiro didn’t say anything, but he pulled Keith back down and cuddled him into his chest. He wrapped his arm and his tail firmly around Keith and held him like he’d never let him go.

And that was everything Keith had ever wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: I wrote an E-rated follow up to this one. [Day 17: Bound](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21518386)
> 
> In the end Keith gets his own mini hoard in a small chest that he keeps locked. And every night after he goes thieving he adds a few coins to it for his own spending money and the rest goes to Shiro. 
> 
> Shiro starts to read to Keith, and Keith likes to curl up against Shiro’s soft belly, listen to Shiro’s voice, and get lost in the stories.
> 
> I make no promises (because I don't promise any content until it's written, lol) but I'm thinking I do want to revisit this AU for a more porny entry. Maybe as one of the free days? Not sure yet, what or how, but I'd like to do something.... What I can promise is that tomorrow's fic is definitely explicit and includes tentacles! \^0^/
> 
> Drop a kudos or a comment if you like me and think I'm cute. ^-^
> 
> You can follow me for fic updates. I'm heavy into that Sheith shit, though I do sometimes dabble in the arena of Heith, Shkatt, and Shunkeith. 
> 
> Twitter: [@WTuesdays](https://twitter.com/WTuesdays)  
Tumblr: [WatermelonTuesdays](https://watermelontuesdays.tumblr.com/)


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